The Indiana General Assembly concluded its work last week after a grueling two-month legislative session that featured fights over mass transit, retention measures for failing students and access to birth control.
This year’s session was a short one, owed to the fact that lawmakers did not have the added burden of crafting a two-year budget. That work will take place next year.
But 2024 still had its dramatic moments.
Here’s what happened to the bills Mirror Indy covered during the legislative session.
Most of the bills are waiting on Gov. Eric Holcomb’s signature. We will update this article if Holcomb vetoes any.
Bill dies, Blue Line survives
Senate Bill 52 was driving toward becoming law. But then the wheels fell off.
The legislation from Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, would have banned dedicated bus lanes for the Blue Line, a proposal that IndyGo said would have doomed the planned bus rapid transit route.
Freeman had filed similar legislation in previous session, but those efforts never gained the approval of the House — which is why transit advocates became nervous when House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, spoke favorably of the bill back in January.
The fight culminated in an emotional public hearing where Rep. Blake Johnson, D-Indianapolis, shed tears as he watched his yearslong effort to expand mass transit nearly come to a grinding halt as a House committee voted to send the bill to the House floor.
But then, four days later, Huston made a surprise announcement: City and state officials had worked out a compromise. Just like that, SB 52 died.
Details of the agreement haven’t been made public, but the pact ensures the city will remain eligible for $150 million in federal funding for the project, which will also go toward infrastructure improvements along Washington Street, such as fresh pavement, new sidewalks and improved drainage.
— Peter Blanchard, local government reporter
Indy’s downtown district survives
Update: Holcomb signed House Bill 1199 Friday, March 15. It went into effect immediately.
Lawmakers allowed Indianapolis to keep its downtown funding district, albeit with some significant changes. Among them: City-County Councilors would have to pass a new ordinance by the end of this year. They also would be required to hold a public hearing on the ordinance and mail a notice to all property owners within the Mile Square district 60 days before the hearing.
The new law also would now exempt homeowners and apartment building owners from having to pay into the fund, although they could opt in. That change came after heavy lobbying by the Indiana Apartment Association, one of the only organizations to oppose the district. The group represents owners of 32 properties within the Mile Square.
At the eleventh hour of the legislative session, lawmakers included a third carve out for single-unit residential housing, or people who own houses but rent them to other tenants. That change was tacked on to House Bill 1120, which otherwise addresses property tax issues.
Without knowing how many apartment owners plan to opt into the district, it’s unclear what impact the exemptions will have on the amount of money that’s raised. Supporters had aimed to raise $5.5 million annually, $1.87 million of which would come from apartment buildings, according to a fiscal analysis of the district. About $160,000 would have come from a $250 flat fee from homeowners in the district.
Altogether, that exceeds the amount that had been earmarked to fund services at a low-barrier homeless shelter in Fountain Square. The rest of the money would fund services, such as additional cleaning crews, public safety patrols and homelessness outreach.
— Emily Hopkins, data reporter
Marion County fire mergers
A bill that would have allowed Indianapolis officials to force the merger of independent township fire departments with the Indianapolis Fire Department died in committee.
Senate Bill 54, authored by Sen. Scott Baldwin, R-Noblesville, would have allowed the City-County Council and Mayor Joe Hogsett to vote to merge the Decatur, Pike and Wayne Township fire departments with the Indianapolis Fire Department without their approval. Current state law requires the township to vote for the merger first.
The Professional Firefighters Union of Indiana requested the bill and supported it, but SB 54 had little support elsewhere. The bill was opposed by township leaders. Wayne Township later voted to merge its fire department and emergency medical services with the city due to financial concerns.
— Enrique Saenz, westside reporter
[View Documenter coverage on the vote to merge Wayne Township and IFD meeting]
Holding back third graders who can’t read
A Senate Republican priority bill this session, Senate Bill 1 will require schools to hold back more students who have not passed the state’s standardized reading exam by the end of third grade.
The bill is part of the state’s latest effort to curb years of stagnant reading scores, with nearly one in five students unable to pass the state’s test each of the last three years.
Though some projections estimate more than 7,000 students could be held back under the legislation, Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said that number is a “worst-case scenario,” considering there are exceptions for some third graders and multiple opportunities for students to take the test.
The legislation received mixed reviews from educators, with some seeing benefits in not passing through students who aren’t ready to learn. Others expressed concern for a looming “bubble” of third graders progressing through school in larger classes.
Holcomb signed the bill Monday, March 11, which means the new requirements will begin in the 2024-2025 school year.
— Carley Lanich, K-12 education reporter
Birth control for Medicaid recipients
Update: Holcomb signed this bill Tuesday, March 12, 2024. It will become law in July.
House Bill 1426 would require hospitals to offer women on Medicaid a long-acting reversible contraceptive arm implant after they give birth. The goal, according to author Rep. Rita Fleming, D-Jeffersonville, is to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and protect women from the risks of multiple pregnancies in a short period of time.
But the seemingly mundane legislation quickly became a battle over reproductive rights in a state with a near-total abortion ban. While the bill gained widespread, bipartisan support in the House, medical professionals and Senate Democrats opposed it, arguing that the legislation also should have contained language about IUDs.
The bill would sunset in June 2025, leaving it up to lawmakers to decide if they would like to re-introduce it in a later session.
— Mary Claire Molloy, health reporter
Wetlands
The first bill signed into law from this session was House Bill 1383, which will increase the amount of wetlands in the state that can be destroyed without mitigation.
The bill was authored by Rep. Alan Morrison, R-Brazil, and was backed by organizations representing the building industry, such as the Indiana Builders Association.
Due to the bill, fewer wetlands will be recognized by the state as the highest quality wetlands, known as Class III wetlands. Class III wetlands require state permits for development and force developers to replace the destroyed wetlands elsewhere or pay the state to do it for them.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management estimates that less than 25,000 acres of Class III wetlands remain in the state, but it will be difficult to track how many Class III wetlands will be lost to development, as the state does not keep a wetlands inventory.
— Enrique Saenz, westside reporter
Protections for ‘forever chemicals’
A bill protecting thousands of toxic but useful chemicals, known collectively as PFAS, was passed by the House but died in committee after it went to the Senate. An attempt to embed language from the dead bill later failed, too.
PFAS chemicals are used to make products resistant to heat, water, grease and stains. They are known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down and can last in the environment for thousands of years. Thousands of PFAS chemicals exist, but the health effects of only a few have been thoroughly studied. Those that have been studied, like PFOA and PFOS, have been linked to increased risk of developing certain cancers and other health issues.
House Bill 1399, authored by Rep. Shane Lindauer, R-Jasper, sought to prevent the state from identifying some chemicals that are useful for Indiana industries as PFAS chemicals, which would have prevented regulations.
House Republicans later inserted the bill’s text into an unrelated sewage bill, House Bill 1329, but the PFAS language was removed after Senate Republicans opposed it.
— Enrique Saenz, westside reporter
Antisemitism bill
Update: Holcomb vetoed this bill March 18, 2024. In a statement, the governor said that while he agreed with the sentiment of the bill, he felt it did not go far enough because it did not include examples of antisemitism.
Holcomb also issued a proclamation condemning antisemitism and endorsing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and the examples included, the majority of which mention Israel.
The House and Senate may override Holcomb’s veto with a simple majority.
A bill that defined and prohibited antisemitism at Indiana public schools and colleges was passed by both chambers and is now headed to Holcomb’s desk.
House Bill 1002’s passage came after lawmakers struggled to determine whether condemning Israel should be considered antisemitic under state law.
Lawmakers put forth several versions of the bill over the last two months. Some professors and students said that language in the original legislation would have limited free speech about Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war. That language was removed by the Senate education committee, which angered many members of the Indiana Jewish community.
The final version passed by both chambers last week compromised by directly citing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and the text of its definition of antisemitism, but not its list of 11 examples of antisemitism, the majority of which included Israel. The final bill also included language added in the Senate education committee that would more broadly protect Indiana students of all religions from discrimination.
The final bill appeared to satisfy advocates on both sides of the issue. Both the Indiana Muslim Advocacy Network and the Jewish Community Relations Council issued statements of support.
— Claire Rafford, higher education reporter
More associate, bachelor’s degrees for Hoosiers
Update: Holcomb signed this bill Wednesday, March 13, 2024. It will become law in July.
Under a bill awaiting Holcomb’s signature, Hoosiers could have more options for higher education in the next few years.
Senate Bill 8 requires public four-year colleges to look into awarding associate degrees to students who drop out. The bill, a priority for Holcomb and the Commission for Higher Education, is an effort to address Indiana’s college going and completion rates.
The bill also would require public four-year colleges to offer at least one three-year bachelor’s degree by 2025. In addition, the legislation would expand reverse transfer, which is a program where students who transfer out of community colleges like Ivy Tech can retroactively receive an associate degree, and require all Indiana high schools to offer state-approved dual credit classes, called Indiana College Core.
— Claire Rafford, higher education reporter
Changes to tenure headed to Holcomb’s desk
Update: Holcomb signed this bill Wednesday, March 13, 2024. It will become law in July.
A bill that Republicans say will help make colleges more welcoming to conservative students is headed to Holcomb’s desk, despite strong opposition from professors, students, civil rights leaders and some university leadership.
Senate Bill 202 proposes a host of changes for Indiana public colleges. Those include requiring five-year reviews of tenured and untenured faculty members and mandating that professors showcase a variety of viewpoints in their teaching, a concept called “intellectual diversity.” The bill would create a process by which students can report professors they believe aren’t showing a wide enough range of views.
Sen. Spencer Deery, R-West Lafayette, who carried the bill, has said that the legislation is necessary to hold tenured professors accountable and make colleges more inclusive of conservative students.
However, some professors said they fear the changes will result in a dearth of qualified faculty members and create a culture by which students are encouraged to report their professors. They also said the bill threatens academic freedom by imposing restrictions on tenure.
Civil rights leaders also expressed concerns over elements of the bill they see as part of a national conservative movement against diversity, equity and inclusion. SB 202 would require universities to report to the Indiana General Assembly how much they spend on DEI efforts annually and forbid colleges from taking stances on political issues that are unrelated to the school’s “core mission.”
— Claire Rafford, higher education reporter
Peter Blanchard covers local government. Reach him at 317-605-4836 or peter.blanchard@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @peterlblanchard.
Emily Hopkins uses data to write stories about people. Contact them at 317-790-5268 or emily.hopkins@mirrorindy.org. Follow them on most social media @indyemapolis.
Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.
Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7
Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus. Get in touch at claire.rafford@mirrorindy.org or on X/Instagram @clairerafford.
Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or enrique.saenz@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @heyEnriqueSaenz
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